Readings on the Tragedies of William Shakespeare. The Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to British Authors.

Swisher, Clarice, Ed.

Designed for young adults, this book on William Shakespeare's tragedies is one of an anthology series providing accessible resources for students researching great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays in the book are taken from a wide variety of sources and are edited to accommodate the reading and comprehension levels of young adults; each essay is introduced by a concise summation of the contributor's themes and insights. Following a biography of William Shakespeare, the 24 essays in the book and their authors include: "Elements of Greek and Shakespearean Tragedy" (Robert Di Yanni); "Shakespeare's Wisdom Is Relevant for All Times and Places" (G.B. Harrison); "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies" (Angela Pitt); "Images of Light in 'Romeo and Juliet'" (Caroline F.E. Spurgeon); "'Romeo and Juliet': More Than Conventions of Love" (Northrop Frye); "Timeless Politicians in 'Julius Caesar'" (Gareth Lloyd Evans); "Caesar Pitted against Fate" (Edith Sitwell); "Place and Time in 'Hamlet'" (Harley Granville-Barker); "The World of 'Hamlet'" (Maynard Mack); "'Othello': A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune" (Helen Gardner); "The Juxtaposition of Opposites in 'Macbeth'" (John Jay Chapman); "'Macbeth' Tempts Fate" (Cleanth Brooks); and "The Greatness of 'King Lear'" (Edward Dowden). Additional features of each book in the series include an annotated table of contents to enhance comparison and facilitate research, a chronology of the author's life and career as well as of concurrent historical events, and primary and secondary bibliographies offering a gateway to further research. (NKA)